After being sentenced to death, she came to her senses.

"Mother, do you really think this will work?"

As Fang Yunyao had predicted, news of the tea party spread throughout the mansion, but she remained uneasy.

Looking at her disappointing daughter, Liu said irritably, "What are you afraid of? No matter what, Wang Zhiyu won't let you go. She'll definitely save this spot for her precious daughter."

Fang Yunyao was even more confused now, and frowned as she asked, "Then why should we spread this around?"

"Of course, I'm saying this to those who are interested. Besides you and Third Sister, isn't there another girl in this mansion who is raised by the Old Madam?"

"Fang Xiaoqi? But she's an adopted daughter; it's not appropriate for her to attend this kind of event."

"What's wrong with an adopted daughter? Before Fang Xiaoran came back, she was the legitimate daughter of the Fang family. Besides, the old lady dotes on her. Between the two illegitimate daughters and the precious maid she raised, who do you think the old lady favors more?"

Liu's words made Fang Yunyao suddenly realize, "Mother is really thinking ahead, but doesn't this mean I can't go even more?"

"Silly girl, one is the old lady, and the other is the master's beloved concubine. What can we do to compete with them? Let them fight like dogs." Madam Liu patted Fang Yunyao's hand and sighed earnestly.

As expected, after the news spread, Fang Xiaoqi couldn't sit still any longer. However, she didn't say it directly. Instead, she went to the old lady to inquire about her well-being and subtly mentioned things like the peach blossoms being in bloom. The old lady immediately understood her meaning and simply asked, "Want to go?"

"That's not what I think." Fang Xiaoqi nervously rubbed her fingers together, her thoughts written all over her face. How could she possibly hide it from the old lady?

After all, she had raised him herself, and the old lady felt sorry for him, so she said, "Go if you want to. Aren't there two spots? Your aunt definitely wants Meng'er to go, so you can go as the eldest daughter of the Fang family. Anyway, your spot will be yours until Xiao Ran comes back."

"What if my sixth sister doesn't want me to? Last time we had an argument, she pushed me into the water. I'm scared..."

"What are you afraid of? With me here, how could she bully you? Besides, isn't she sick? We can't possibly let her attend the Ninth Princess's tea party while she's ill."

Liu had hoped that Wang Zhiyu would have a falling out with the old lady over the quota issue, but she didn't expect the old lady to kick Fang Xiaoran to the curb. Well, everyone has someone to protect them, but Fang Xiaoran doesn't. Of course, you pick on the weak.

However, this did not allow Fang Yunyao to taste the sweetness. How could Fang Yunyao, who was always the one being suppressed, accept this? She went to the old lady crying and said that she was biased. They were all born out of wedlock, so why could Fang Menghe go while she could not?

Fang Yunyao was clever. She knew not to target Fang Xiaoqi, since she was on the old lady's side and she didn't want to offend her. Instead, she chose to bring Fang Xiaoqi into her own camp.

Both sides were her flesh and blood, and the old lady couldn't make a decision. After all, she herself had her own selfish motives, so she had no choice but to let them go find Fang Zhengyong.

So the two sisters really did cause a scene in front of Fang Zhengyong. Fang Zhengyong was already having a headache because of official matters, and now the two girls were making a racket, so he simply said, "Meng'er is the eldest daughter, so let her go."

The decision was made in a single sentence, and no one dared to object.

However, Fang Xiaoran, who was involved, didn't even have the right to participate and was kicked out of the game from the very beginning.

Qinglan told Fang Xiaoran about these things with a resentful look on her face, her tone full of grievance, "They fight and fight for a worthless spot but no one ever asks for your opinion, Miss. You are clearly the one who is most qualified to go."

“You don’t need to feel sorry for me. So what if we go to the tea party? What right does a girl from the Fang family have to stand up for me?” Fang Xiaoran smiled and put the jar back on the shelf.

The jar looked ordinary, with nothing special about it. Qinglan didn't understand why Fang Xiaoran always carried it, and there was more than one. There were several similar jars on the shelf. As for what was inside, she and Ziju didn't dare to ask.

Seeing Fang Xiaoran's composure, Qinglan's eyes darkened slightly, and she whispered, "So, Miss, you're not planning to go?"

Fang Xiaoran smiled and said, "Of course I'll go. I won't give them my things even if I lose them."

Qinglan looked troubled. "But Master has already arranged for the Third Miss and the Fifth Miss to go together."

However, Fang Xiaoran didn't care at all. She said, "Let him decide, I'll go mine."

"This..." Qinglan had doubts, but dared not ask, especially when she met Fang Xiaoran's cold eyes, which were even colder than ice. She immediately shrank her neck.

After her argument with Fang Yunyao, Fang Menghe was still furious. Although they were both illegitimate daughters, her food, clothing, and daily necessities were all in accordance with the regulations for legitimate daughters. Fang Zhengyong doted on her, and she was in charge of the household. Apart from not having the title of legitimate daughter, how was she inferior to a legitimate daughter? How could she accept a concubine's daughter coming to her and competing with her for a spot? Wouldn't she be a laughing stock if word got out?

Just thinking about Fang Yunyao's face back then made her furious. She slammed her handkerchief on the table, and when she felt a dull pain in her palm, she immediately raised her hand and muttered, "Fang Yunyao has become increasingly audacious lately. She even dares to talk back to me."

Chunxia quickly pulled her hand and gently blew on it, "Why are you getting angry with her, Miss? In the end, you'll be the one going. If you ask me, Fifth Miss is the one who has the least right to go."

"Yes, she's an adopted daughter, yet she's managed to climb over the heads of proper girls. Grandmother is so biased. There are so many girls in the Fang family, but she's the only one who's good to her. Is she planning to have her take care of her in her old age?" Fang Menghe became even angrier when she said this.

Hearing her outrageous remarks, Chunxia quickly whispered to stop her, "Miss, be careful what you say. If the old lady hears this, you'll be severely punished, and it will also cause a rift between you and your granddaughter."

Fang Meng said gently, "What do you mean by 'close'? We weren't that close to begin with. She's biased and doesn't want anyone to say anything? I just can't stand Fang Xiaoqi's pretentious and pitiful act. Ever since she came back, Father and Grandmother have been doting on her. She's usually well-behaved and kind to everyone, but behind their backs, she's stabbed them in the back countless times. Otherwise, why would Grandmother be increasingly displeased with me now, and even Father is?"

She grew angrier as she spoke, her hand clenching the handkerchief tightly. "Fang Xiaoran is a good-for-nothing. She is the rightful daughter of the Fang family who was found, yet she is trampled underfoot by some wild girl of unknown origin. I feel ashamed for her."

Compared to Fang Xiaoqi, who schemes behind people's backs, she certainly preferred Fang Xiaoran, whom she could easily manipulate and bully.

However, Fang Xiaoran found these words laughable. It was simply that she couldn't control Fang Xiaoqi because Fang Xiaoqi had the support of the old lady. Fang Xiaoran, on the other hand, had no one behind her and was disliked by the old lady. In this Fang family, anyone could step on her.

“Miss…” Upon hearing this, Ziju looked at Fang Xiaoran with concern, but Fang Xiaoran remained calm and smiled faintly, “It’s alright, you can just wait here.”

Chunxia, ​​unaware of the situation, laughed and said, "Girl, why are you making a fool of yourself for her? She's frail; it's not even certain she'll make it through spring."

Fang Menghe said, "It would be best if we couldn't make it through, so I wouldn't have to go through the trouble of looking for the key."

"Third Sister, are you saying who can't make it through?"

The sudden sound came from behind Fang Meng, startling her.